Suranjan Arasaratnam, 34, lost control of his black BMW drifted across two lanes, jumped the median and collided head-on with the Hyundai Accent driven by Kouchi Matsumoto, who was killed instantly. His wife, Lynda, was seriously injured. Mike Carroccetto / The Ottawa Citizen

Not every deadly car crash is a crime, and the one that claimed the accomplished life of Kouchi Matsumoto in 2013 has been ruled in court as a tragic accident.

Matsumoto, 70, a retired Carleton University chemistry professor and pioneering member of the city’s Soka Gakkai Buddhist community, had survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and several major earthquakes only to meet an untimely death in the northbound lane of Woodroffe Avenue on May 26, 2013.

It was around 5:30 p.m. and Matsumoto and his wife, Lynda, were travelling north when Suranjan Arasaratnam, 34, was exiting the Queensway. He took the southbound off-ramp too fast and lost control of his black BMW on the dry road, drifted across two lanes, jumped the median and collided head-on with the Matsumotos’ Hyundai Accent. Matsumoto was killed instantly. His wife, then 66, was seriously injured.

Police issued a news release at the time saying speed was a factor. Later, they charged Arasaratnam with criminal negligence causing death and dangerous driving.

The police case, presented in court by the Crown, was that Arasaratnam’s driving was reckless and a marked departure from the norm.

But after weighing all the evidence, Ontario Superior Court Justice Marc Labrosse acquitted Arasaratnam of all criminal charges, saying he was going too fast, but not speeding excessively.

“I conclude that Mr. Arasaratnam failed to negotiate the end of the off-ramp as a result of both going too fast and misjudging the curb or by some other inadvertence. He did not, however, drive in a manner that was dangerous to the public,” the judge ruled.

The judge said there was no evidence that Arasaratnam showed a wanton or reckless disregard for safety of others.

In his decision, the judge told Matsumoto’s wife that he was sorry for her loss.

“While you may or may not agree with my conclusions, I hope that they will allow you to close some doors on this tragic accident.”

Kouchi Matsumoto was a retired Carleton University chemistry professor and pioneering member of the city’s Soka Gakkai Buddhist community.BRUNO SCHLUMBERGER /
THE OTTAWA CITIZEN

The judge, who called the case “very sad and tragic”, then addressed the accused, saying he was sorry for him, too.

“You are responsible for the death of Kouchi Matsumoto, but not criminally responsible for his death. I am also very sorry for you sir. You will have to live with that for the rest of your life,” Labrosse said in his late December decision.

In an unusual ruling for a Superior Court judge, Labrosse did find Arasaratnam guilty of the lesser offence of careless driving, a provincial Highway Traffic Act offence which carries a penalty ranging from a fine to six months in jail.

The Crown had called six civilian witnesses to the stand.

Jeffrey Bebee testified that he was riding his motorcycle on the Queensway in the westbound lane when he saw Arasaratnam come up beside him. He estimated the accused’s speed to be around 135 km/h.

Dakota Henning testified that he was walking on the east side of Woodroffe Avenue when he heard the BMW taking the off-ramp. He told court that the accused lost control of the car, then over-corrected, hit the median, then struck Matsumoto’s car. He estimated that Arasaratnam was driving at 80 to 90 km/h on an off-ramp that recommends 40 km/h.

Daniel Lega testified that he was driving ahead of Matsumoto’s car. He saw the black BMW approaching from his left. He said the driver was slouching behind the wheel, but as the car started drifting, saw the driver sit up in a panic, going from relaxed to stiff. He said the BMW was going too fast and estimated its speed at 60 km/h.

(An Uber driver on Sunday took the same off-ramp at 70 km/h, which fit the average speed of other drivers.)

Hugh Stewart told court that he was driving south on Woodroffe at the time and that the BMW was travelling “surprisingly fast.”

Thomas Clarke was also in the southbound lane and testified that the BMW was travelling “way too fast.”

Alex Jayasinghe was the passenger in the BMW and was on the same cricket team as the accused, said he had never driven with Arasaratnam and was sitting comfortably and texting at the time so he couldn’t recall or notice if the accused was speeding excessively. He didn’t notice anything beyond normal.

The judge noted that Jayasinghe was not only a persuasive witness but a credible one who did not try to overemphasize the interest of his friend.

It was the first time that Det. David Fong had been assigned as the lead reconstruction officer. Fong concluded in his report that the accused exceeded the range on the off-ramp and lost control. He concluded that Arasaratnam had been driving at a minimum approximate speed of 88 km/h — more than double the recommended speed.

But under cross examination by defence lawyer Lorne Goldstein, Fong admitted that he was actually unable to conclude that the BMW exceeded the range for critical curve speed of the off-ramp. The officer also admitted that the accused’s minimum approximate speed on the off-ramp was 61 km/h, rather than 88 km/h.

The police officer also admitted under cross-examination that his calculations were generic and did not take into account the differences between, say, a minivan and the BMW 300 Series in question. Fong also confirmed that the friction tables he used that were supplied to him contained an error.

The court also heard from an expert witness who said that people are terrible judges of speed.

Arasaratnam is expected to be sentenced later this year.

“It was obviously a difficult case with many complex and important legal issues. My client is looking forward to moving forward from here,” said Goldstein.